ARC Review: The Pirate's Wish by Cassandra Rose Clarke

Release Date: June 4th, 2013

336 pages

Publisher: Strange Chemistry

After setting out to break the curse that binds them together, the pirate Ananna and the assassin Naji find themselves stranded on an enchanted island in the north with nothing but a sword, their wits, and the secret to breaking the curse: complete three impossible tasks. With the help of their friend Marjani and a rather unusual ally, Ananna and Naji make their way south again, seeking what seems to be beyond their reach.

Unfortunately, Naji has enemies from the shadowy world known as the Mists, and Ananna must still face the repercussions of going up against the Pirate Confederation. Together, Naji and Ananna must break the curse, escape their enemies — and come to terms with their growing romantic attraction.

This is something I rarely say about sequels but: I prefered The Pirate's Wish to its prequel, The Assassin's Curse! I'm plesantly shocked since the first novel in a series is almost always better than its sequels. Cassandra really achieved the impossible with this one. I was totally captivated and the world-building, the romance and even the characters developed so much in contrast to the prequel. The Pirate's Wish is exactly what every sequel should be: better.

There is a great pace to this novel, it a great mix of slower paced scenes with action-filled ones. It is the perfect sea adventure, with pirates and magic, curses and a unique humor. I also loved the building up to the romance, since we didn't get much of it in the first novel. It was so much fun to read, even more so than the first. I didn't know that this was the conclusion to this series when I started it, but now I that I know, it does certainly feel like a conclusion, with the curses broken and the romance question answered. But it was a blast to read just how they got to this point.

The main character, Ananna, is a great heroine. She is sarcastic and independent, naive and sweet. She is not the usual main character and that's refreshing. She is just so strong and thinks about her interests as well as those of the others. She loves Naji but she doesn't let her feelings cloud her dreams, she would make the best of it, even if he didn't like her back. She has a hard shell but a soft core. Naji is also a nice partner for her, he is not as expected. He is not swoony, but nice in his own way. He was way more romantic in this one too (I was even a bit surprised!). The manicore was, in my opinion, the best addition possible! She was funny in that serious way and made this novel even more entertaining.

All in all, The Pirate's Wish was a great conclusion to this captivating adventure. The romance is awkward, sweet and funny to read. The plot feels a lot like the Pirate of the Caribbean films with quest to break the curse, lots of dry humor and an adorable romance. Just what a fantasy should feel like. I really like fantasy novels and this one is certainly a great addition to the genre.

Huge thanks to Strange Chemistry for providing me with a copy for review!

ARC Review: Broken by A.E. Rought

Release Date: January 8th, 2013
Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Strange Chemistry

Imagine a modern spin on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein where a young couple’s undying love and the grief of a father pushed beyond sanity could spell the destruction of them all.

A string of suspicious deaths near a small Michigan town ends with a fall that claims the life of Emma Gentry's boyfriend, Daniel. Emma is broken, a hollow shell mechanically moving through her days. She and Daniel had been made for each other, complete only when they were together. Now she restlessly wanders the town in the late Fall gloom, haunting the cemetery and its white-marbled tombs, feeling Daniel everywhere, his spectre in the moonlight and the fog.
When she encounters newcomer Alex Franks, only son of a renowned widowed surgeon, she's intrigued despite herself. He's an enigma, melting into shadows, preferring to keep to himself. But he is as drawn to her as she is to him. He is strangely... familiar. From the way he knows how to open her locker when it sticks, to the nickname she shared only with Daniel, even his hazel eyes with brown flecks are just like Daniel's.
The closer they become, though, the more something inside her screams there's something very wrong with Alex Franks. And when Emma stumbles across a grotesque and terrifying menagerie of mangled but living animals within the walls of the Franks' estate, creatures she surely knows must have died from their injuries, she knows.

I liked Broken. Don't get me wrong, I did. But the first thing that bothered me was the summary. I mean, they give almost everything away and you dive into the novel almost expecting every twist and turn (which are not that many). That really took the pleasure away of reading it. And then, the author leaves to many obvious clues, so everything was really no surprise. It feels a bit pointless now to have read the whole novel because I really knew how everything would turn out.

The story itself is nicely done if you aren't bothered by too many clues. However I wouldn't necessarily say that Broken is a remake of Frankenstein; I rather thought it was inspired by but that's it. Furthermore I thought the story to be too focused on the couple and nothing else grabbed my attention. A subplot would have been nice. Daniel's accident was the only thing that really got me curious throughout the novel: how had he died? Nevertheless I enjoyed reading this novel but mostly because of the dark Gothic aspects; the author really nailed these. Sometimes I thought I was in some kind of Halloween movie.

The characters are pretty much ok. I liked Emma as a character even though she was sometimes a bit too depressed for me. She is strong and doesn't take crap from anyone. Alex was a bit confusing. I mean, after the summary hints at Frankenstein is almost impossible for you to miss the huge clues to who Alex really is. That's the problem with a too detailed summary, it leaves little to the imagination. The romance was sweet but too intense sometimes. Not to mention Emma's mother, she was intense with a capital I.

Overall, I liked reading the novel but I wouldn't read it again. That's saying something because I almost always reread my books. The Gothic-feel to it was certainly there but the story fell short, in part because of the synopsis. For those of you who enjoy novels with more action and entertaining characters, this is surely not for you. With overdescriptive writing and a rather monotone plot, Rought's novel is not for everyone.

Thanks to Strange Chemistry for providing me with a copy of Broken for review!

ARC Review: Assassin's Curse - Cassandra Rose Clarke

Release Date: October 2nd 2012
Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Strange Chemistry

Ananna of the Tanarau abandons ship when her parents try to marry her off to an allying pirate clan: she wants to captain her own boat, not serve as second-in-command to her handsome yet clueless fiance. But her escape has dire consequences when she learns the scorned clan has sent an assassin after her.

And when the assassin, Naji, finally catches up with her, things get even worse. Ananna inadvertently triggers a nasty curse — with a life-altering result. Now Ananna and Naji are forced to become uneasy allies as they work together to break the curse and return their lives back to normal. Or at least as normal as the lives of a pirate and an assassin can be.

Pirates, magic, assassins and an impossible curse: everything that could only result in an amazing adventure. The Assassin's Curse is a great mix of strong characters, exciting adventure and the author's amazing creativity. Not to mention the gorgeous cover that completely matches the inside of the novel. However it's worth mentioning that in my opinion the world-building and characters' background were somewhat lacking.

The Plot: The beginning already starts with a bang, Clarke promises us an exciting novel and she sure fulfils this promise. Ananna embarks on an unexpected adventure through the desert and the sea with an even more unexpected companion: an assassin. The development of the story certainly entertains and surprises us. What I mostly disliked about the story was the world-building, which for me wasn't as developed. I wanted to know more about Naji's enemies (the Mists) and about that parallel world in which they live in.

The Characters: Ananna was the perfect pirate. She steals, swears and is not the bit ladylike and yet she is not ashamed of it. I really enjoyed this side of her, although she also has a sweet side unknown to her. Naji was a bit of a mystery and to be truthful I didn't like him that much. Clarke doesn't share much about him and I found him to be too grumpy. Why Ananna falls in love with him remains a question for me, yet it was inevitable.

The Assassin's Curse was a fun and quick read that provides readers with an amazing adventure. The author's way of writing gives off an Arabian feeling that takes us to the world Clarke's story takes place in. Even though I really enjoyed the plot, in my opinion there are some important components missing (characters' background, Ananna's family disappears, world-building) but being a series, it is imaginable that certain will be explained in future novels . If you are an adventure lover, you should certainly check this one out.

A huge thanks to Strange Chemistry for providing me with a copy of this amazing novel!

Cassandra Rose Clarke is a speculative fiction writer living amongst the beige stucco and overgrown pecan trees of Houston, Texas. She graduated in 2006 from The University of St. Thomas with a bachelor’s degree in English, and in 2008 she completed her master’s degree in creative writing at The University of Texas at Austin. Both of these degrees have served her surprisingly well.
During the summer of 2010, she attended the Clarion West Writers Workshop in Seattle, where she enjoyed sixty-degree summer days. Having been born and raised in Texas, this was something of a big deal. She was also a recipient of the 2010 Susan C. Petrey Clarion Scholarship Fund. Website